The Road to Valley Forge: How Washington Built the Army that Won the Revolution

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John Buchanan

Lists with This Book. This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Jul 06, Stephanie Miller rated it liked it Shelves: Not one of my favorite history books. You can tell that Buchanan is not a trained historian he's a museum man.

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He does go into deep detail in regards to military maneuvers, but his informal tone and judgment of historical figures shows he was not trained to be a historical writer. Also, if he is going to go into such detail about movements of the army, he would have benefited from providing the reader more maps than just for the Battle of Germantown. Also, the title of the book alludes the rea Not one of my favorite history books. Also, the title of the book alludes the reader to believe the bulk of the book will deal with Valley Forge and how the Continental Army found itself there.

The Road to Valley Forge: How Washington Built the Army That Won the Revolution (2004)

Instead the book deals with the Washington's campaigns of , and spends half a chapter dealing with Valley Forge. There are better works that cover this time period and better works that explore Valley Forge. Jan 30, Austin Gisriel rated it it was amazing. An excellent analysis of George Washington's development as a field commander and how, as the title suggests, he built the army that won the Revolution. Buchanan is very objective in his assessment of Washington, neither sugar-coating his weaknesses, nor downplaying his strengths.

Buchanan writes directly to the reader and so The Road to Valley Forge often reads like a a pleasant and interesting conversation.

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He is not afraid to write in the first person, to ask us to contemplate certain historic An excellent analysis of George Washington's development as a field commander and how, as the title suggests, he built the army that won the Revolution. He is not afraid to write in the first person, to ask us to contemplate certain historical questions, or to offer dispassionate criticism of other historians' conclusions. Buchanan assumes a fairly high level of Revolutionary War knowledge on the reader's part. While it can be enjoyable and educational without such a background, the reader will benefit from having it.

Aug 01, Jim added it. The author keeps broaching topics in the early part of the book and then quickly says something like "but we'll talk about that later", which gets kind of irritating. He refutes some stories like Patrick Ferguson passing up a chance at taking a shot at George Washington during the Battle of Brandywine Creek because Washington had his back turned to him that have been passed along as This history takes you from the loss of New York City to the British through the Battle of Monmouth Courthouse.

He refutes some stories like Patrick Ferguson passing up a chance at taking a shot at George Washington during the Battle of Brandywine Creek because Washington had his back turned to him that have been passed along as fact in some other histories. Overall, this book is worth reading. Not a great book.

The Road to Valley Forge: How Washington Built the Army that Won the Revolution by John Buchanan

I felt like he went into minute detail in the areas that I cared nothing for and then glossed over all of the stuff I wanted to hear more about. There are better books that cover this subject. For a barely page book, it took me months to read. That pretty much says it all since I can usually cover that in 2 -4 days if the book is good. Jun 27, George Nap rated it really liked it.

Nice narrative and analysis of the embryonic Continental Army and the travails it faced. Becca Mee rated it really liked it Jun 03, Aloysius rated it really liked it Sep 07, Brad rated it liked it Mar 04, Ned M Campbell rated it liked it Sep 29, Robert Mcfarland rated it liked it Mar 15, Eric Fischer rated it really liked it Oct 15, Robert Kovacs rated it it was amazing Dec 15, Dwight rated it liked it Jan 06, Walt O'Hara rated it really liked it Feb 04, Blewis rated it liked it Jun 19, Taylor Kniphfer rated it really liked it Jan 31, Rick rated it really liked it Apr 14, Charlie Wagner rated it liked it Jul 26, Mark W rated it it was ok Oct 07, Greg Thiele rated it really liked it Jan 18, Buchanan focuses on the most critical period of the Revolutionary War: August through the winter of During this time, Great Britain had its best chance to destroy the Continental Army and crush the rebellion.

But it was also during this period that Washington evolved from a mistake-prone backwoods soldier to a wiser commander-in-chief of a regular army that in turn developed from rabble into the makings of a professional force. Buchanan asserts that Washington was an inspired commander, and once the shooting started, character and instinct took over; that he was a gifted administrator whose attention to the duties of his office was awesome; and that he was a revolutionary leader of the first rank, a skillful politician, and a charismatic figure.

Buchanan has drawn on a number of sources, including important papers from the University of Virginia Library, and the result is an absorbing biography of the man and his mission. In examining the renowned accomplishments of our first President, as well as the less dramatic, day-to-day aspects of his life, this engaging volume offers a learned and well-balanced portrait of George Washington as a general, politician, citizen, husband and thinker that ultimately supports Thomas Jefferson?

He was, indeed, in every sense of the words, a wise, a good, and a great man.? Buchanan traces the development of the Revolutionary Army from the disastrous New York campaigns of to its confident emergence from Valley Forge in , evaluating the events of this critical two-year period from a number of perspectives. At every step of the way, Buchanan analyzes troop movements and battlefield operations in detail, presents ample and well-chosen citations from the writings of major and minor players in the Revolutionary War, evaluates received scholarly wisdom on the interpretation of events and tests time-worn cultural myths against the historical record.

Although the book clearly identifies itself with academic studies of the Revolutionary War era and Buchanan possesses an obviously deep knowledge of the period and familiarity with the important scholarship on it, he never lets the reader forget the gripping story that is at the heart of all this history.

The fearful suspense of battles, the hot blood of interpersonal rivalries and the nobility of revolutionary hopes are all here and make for engaging reading, even if the more academic portions of the book may leave the reader cold. Copyright Reed Business Information. The Continental Army began as a half-disciplined mob, but by the time Washington began pursuing the British evacuating Philadelphia in , he was leading well-drilled men and skillful officers.

The Road to Valley Forge: How Washington Built the Army that Won the Revolution

This overview is well written, flows easily, and is punctuated with vignettes aiding comprehension and making the leaders come alive. Former Cornell University archivist Buchanan does not mince words when describing failures; praise for the struggling American leadership comes slowly.

Tempering endured during and produced better judgments as the northern campaigns wore on. Even though Washington opted for overly complicated maneuvering, regimental commanders were generally adept in executing plans because company, and most regimental, officers were competent and experienced; breakdowns came higher up.

Valley Forge was the final reorganization, producing a professional army, but Buchanan seems to emphasize Von Steuben's impact on the men more than on brigade and division commanders who benefited most from constant drill. After Valley Forge, the Continentals maneuvered as an army, engaging the British with linear warfare and holding their own.

This thought-provoking overview of the early Continental Army will prove useful to the general public as well as to military historians. Babits East Carolina University.